There is a lot of concern about the relative lack of women in STEM fields. It is a fact–their representation in STEM careers is far below their proportion in the population. And it isn’t just women who recognize this is a serious issue that needs to improve. There is a large and growing number of studies that show mixed gender teams, companies, and organizations perform better in academic and business settings. Here is one such article from a few years ago.

There is power in having a positive role model. (That’s why Tip #9 in my book is to Find a Mentor.) People at The Telegraph in the UK have put an inspirational website together that has over 100 women with notable achievements, careers, videos, and stories in the space field. If you are a woman thinking or wondering about a career in aerospace–or know one–head over to this Women In Space website so you can learn about some very impressive, influential, and interesting people. They happen to be women. In fact, if you aren’t a woman this would still be a fascinating page for you to visit too.

We still need more rocket scientists! We’ve got a tremendous amount of potential energy stored up in half of our population. Let’s not let it go to waste.

By the way, as great as this website and list of women is, it is leaving out the non-space portion of aerospace: aviation and aeronautics. Women in aviation would include pioneers and achievers like Amelia Earhart, Patty Wagstaff, Colleen Barrett (President and COO at Southwest Airlines), and thousands more.